Changing Prayers

January 19, 2022

Nearly fifty years ago, my seminary theology professor challenged the class to examine our beliefs in light of things we had written in the past. “If you have been preaching, review your sermons,” he said. I did, and was appalled. 

I truly believed then as now, that we are saved by grace through faith in the atoning and substitutionary work of Christ on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. But as I read through five years of sermons, I discovered that most of the time, I was telling my congregation to work a little harder, do a little better. I was giving good advice, but not Good News. I vowed to never again preach a sermon that didn’t have a clear presentation of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. I’ve often had to scrap entire sermons or rewrite what I had written because I had inadvertently slipped back into the advice column. It is easy to believe one thing and be unaware that what we are saying is in contradiction. It’s called by many names—integrity, hypocrisy, inconsistency among them.

Two days ago, I commented on Jeremiah 29:11-13, how we seek God’s blessing instead of seeking God himself. It was an indictment of our modern Western Christian mentality—a milder form of what has become known as the Prosperity Gospel which teaches that God wants to shower us with material prosperity so we can be happy. I’ve contended for years that God is far more interested in our holiness than our happiness, but as I continued to reflect upon this text, the Holy Spirit started to work. He has a way of wielding his Sword of the Word against the very one who holds it. It is TWO-edged, after all, and cuts both ways (Hebrews 4:12). 

God tells Jeremiah, “Is not my word like a fire…and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (23:29). Well, he started hammering away, and in the process opened my eyes to something I hadn’t noticed before. If I truly believe that we should seek the Giver more than the gift, why don’t my prayers reflect this conviction? Too often, my prayers consist in little more than a laundry list of things I want God to do. Most of it is intercession for others, but these prayers still end up being, “Would you do this? Please heal this person. Provide for so-and-so’s needs…” When all is said and done, I’ve sought only the gifts, not the Giver.

If my children or grandchildren only came around when they want something, they would be seeking only the gift, and I would be quite disappointed that they weren’t interested in our relationship. I am happy to give, but that delight would diminish considerably if they never wanted just to enjoy one another’s company.

Like my pre-seminary sermons, my prayers have not lived up to my beliefs. So as with the sermons, the prayers have to change. I want to be a God-seeker, not a gift-seeker.